Sore joints particularly feet and hand pain and skin feels bruised?

[Peardear]

I’m 25 years old and have sore joints in my hands especially. I have been to my dr for blood test and hand X-ray. Both have come back okay. The dr did suggest it could be the start of a couple diseases but is reluctant to diagnose due to my age.

My joint pain is pretty consistent doesn’t matter if I’ve been busy or doing nothing. Joints especially sore in mornings but once I’m on the go it seems to subside. At night though my joints light up and find it difficult to sleep without pain killers. Extremely sore when I knock my hands/fingers accidentally, and my joints ache terribly with the cold.

Anyone have any ideas what this could be at my age?

Sorry forgot to add about my skin. My skin feels bruised on my arms/legs/torso and back but never have any bruises there. If I press lightly on my skin or stroke my skin it feels black and blue although it isn’t consistent, some days my skin feels normal?

Ask to be referred to Rheumatology. I have Elhers Danlos syndrome. A lot of the symptoms cross over in to other conditions so it's really hard to diagnose. What you've described fits me, although I have other EDS symptoms as well.

I second @jesscakess post. I also have EDS and have all the symptoms you mention (plus others). You definitely need a rheumatology referral as EDS is often missed by other doctors and people are incorrectly diagnosed with other syndromes.

@YnyshirGal @jesscakess do I just go to my gp and ask for a rheumatology referral? He was very understanding and did tell me to go back if it got worse. He suggested it was either RA or fibromyalgia but didn’t want to diagnose me at 25…doesn’t mean my pain stops though!

Yes you can absolutely ask for one. They may try to say no, but Fibromyalgia is one of the most common misdiagnoses of EDS (and other conditions) so I’d definitely want to see the specialist before I accepted that as a diagnosis. If they won’t refer you, you can ask to see another GP in the practice or alternatively book to see one privately. Good luck!

My joints hurt when my blood sugar has got a bit high, if you find glucose in your urine you might be diabetic/prediabetic (and an easy thing to rule out while waiting on other referrals, you can get urine dipsticks on amazon quite cheaply).

Fibromyalgia can also be diagnosed by a rheumatologist. RA can be diagnosed via a blood test, so really easy to rule out. You need answers so that you can best care for yourself. If I had been diagnosed with EDS before I fell pregnant, I could have managed my pregnancy very differently. I wasn't, and so when my hip dislocated at 12 weeks, it was assumed I had SPD and everything would be ok again after birth. I'm disabled and use a wheelchair now because of that. It takes an average of 20yrs of symptoms to diagnose EDS, please don't let the drs fob you off. Whatever is causing this, you have the right to know and the right to appropriate treatment. Best of luck.